Kodak’s loss of focus chronicled - How could a household name of more than 120 years quickly slip into oblivion?

Fri, 24 August 2012

<a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/fbernardi/08-24-12-AIE-John_Larish.mp3"><img src="http://assets.libsyn.com/podcastIcon.gif" alt="" align="left" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://www.imagingexec.com/webpage/kodak-s-loss-of-focus-chronicled">Kodak’s loss of focus chronicled</a>

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<p> Photo industry expert John Larish followed Kodak for more than three decades, and in his latest book he provides an inside and highly documented look at how Kodak stumbled its way through a half dozen chief executive officers into the depths of darkness. “Out of Focus: The story of how Kodak lost its direction,” gives an unprecedented view of how any large corporation can be so blinded by its own views of the world around it, Larish says, so that its personnel feel it is too big, too strong to fail. The book is more than just an indictment or a litany of Kodak’s failures: Larish, a former Kodak employee himself before becoming an independent writer and consultant, tells us that readers in a wide variety of businesses have already told him they’ve learned valuable lessons from reading of the film giant’s mistakes. The book is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Out-Focus-story-Kodak-direction/dp/1477581162" target="_blank">available here</a><br>

Interview starts - 1:37<br>

Interview ends - 17:46</p>

 

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<p>Source: <a href="http://www.imagingexec.com/webpage/kodak-s-loss-of-focus-chronicled">http://www.imagingexec.com/webpage/kodak-s-loss-of-focus-chronicled</a></p>

Their business model depended on people always wanting film and a lot of it. Digital cameras happened. Surely that is

the explanation. For Kodak to be as successful today as it was in the age of film would have required a reinventing of

itself similar to IBM. That's tricky to pull off. Had it done that, it would have probably sold off the film business long ago

and tried to become the dominant (like Apple computer dominant) digital sensor manufacturer in the world maybe. Or it

might have gone into another business, but film was never going to be a long term proposition unless it was possible to

make film to stay ahead of digital (which it isn't right?).

 

 

I don't say this with a song in my heart. I think it's sad. But then Kodak hasn't been the kindest company either. I

remember a story about how they "acquired" kodachrome. The story I heard was pretty ugly. Maybe that story was

incorrect I don't know. It's bad for photographers, but it seems predictable.

<p>Many great companies have come and gone so the Kodak story didn't particularly resonate with me nor offer any new insight. </p>

<p>Its current equivalent might be companies like Sears struggling in a changing world but have essentially become irrelevant. Sometimes corporate history works against you when its ingrained culture becomes impossible to change no matter which CEO you pick to run it. </p>

<p>Wanted to add: We're also seeing modern companies struggling for market share while teetering on bankruptcy; would any of Kodak's lessons help RIM (makers of Blackberry) or many others when the turnaround time is measured in months or at most 2-5 years? </p>

<p>I remember reading once that the problem the grand panjandrums of the railroad industry faced in the era of interstate highways and jet travel was that they thought that they were in the railroad industry instead of the transportation industry, so when the passengers they'd always relied on for their business found new and faster ways of getting where they wanted to go, the old railroad men weren't ready for the change. It's the way the business world works; someone comes along with something new and the old companies either adapt to the new way of doing things or they go under or get bought out. Kodak should have seen the handwriting on the wall; they were, after all, the people who invented digital imaging in the first place.</p>

<p>Many years ago every photo shop in the US used to have a sign that read "We use Kodak Paper for a good look", which meant that all paper and chemicals and films inside that store were probably Kodak brand. There were lots of photo stores everywhere, so, Kodak was doing quite well. They took care of their dealers, who took care of their customers and the company had nowhere to go but up. <br>

Somewhere in the 80's they decided to change their business model and break into 2 parts, consumer and professional division. I fell into the consumer division for some reason. When I needed Kodak products that fell into the professional division, I couldn't purchase them. The company was now working against me. Why should I send my customers to another store when they were quite happy to do business with me for many years. I tried and tried, but Kodak would not budge and refused to sell me products I needed. What else could I do? I told them I was going Green and switched all my supplies, paper, chemicals, cameras to Fuji, who treated me extremely well and got me what I needed. Not only that, they were cheaper than Kodak.<br>

Over they years, many many other stores got rid of their "We use Kodak" signs and switched to Fuji, Agfa, Konica. Imagine this: they had an almost complete lock on the US market and just pissed it away with their attitude, high prices, and lousy business practices to other manufacturers. Thousands of stores, quit buying from Kodak and the company went down hill from there. At least in the photo business.<br>

Way to go Kodak! You had it all and just gave it away. Us old time dealers used to love Kodak and would have stayed with it, but corprate Kodak had to have its way. You win (loose), good riddence.</p>

<p>"We're within sight of competing what will be one of the most remarkable turnarounds in corporate history"</p>

<p>Quote by Perez Kodak CEO in 2006 Annual Report Page 3</p>

<p>Stock price in 2006 was about 24. Yesterday 19 cents.</p>